Fold

To gently incorporate ingredients while maintaining the air in the lighter ingredient. A lighter ingredient like whipped egg whites or whipped cream is usually incorporated into a heavier base. The motion should be a gentle circular action, with the spatula reaching right to the bottom of the bowl to lift the heavier base until incorporated. There is no benefit to folding too slowly—on occasion, folding too deliberately gives the whipped ingredient more time to break down and collapse. If whipped cream or egg whites are being folded in multiple additions, as a recipe would typically state, the first addition does not need to be fully incorporated before adding the next addition since you will be folding again. By the final folding, the mixture should be homogeneous.